Bandsaw Blade Recommendations

[Joe Hollis]

Hello all,

I am taking delivery of a 4 h.p. 18" bandsaw in about a month, and would like to order a small selection - maybe a total of five to six blades for it. I read an excellent post a few weeks ago here on bandsaw blades, but after reading it again, am still a bit unsure as to which blades would be best for me. The saw takes a 170" blade up to 1" wide. I will be using it a fair bit for resawing and then for general work -no fine tight radius work, as least for a while. I would be resawing hardwood lumber up to say 10" wide maximum. I have never owned a bandsaw before, and have limited experience using one.

I would rather spend more to get blades that last longer, if that information is helpful.

I appreciate any guidance you can offer.

Joe H.

[John K Jordan]

When I bought my first bandsaw I got several different blades and tried them to see what worked best for me.

Sometimes the widest blade the bandsaw maker says will work is not the best. (Some makers inflate the specs to sell more saws.) I most use 1/2"x3tpi blades on my 18" saw - this works for the kind of things I do with the saw, probably much different from yours.

JKJ

[Art Tripp]

I purchased the Laguna 18BX bandsaw in January (18", 3 hp, rated for 1-1/4" max blade width, 145" length) and chose the Laguna Resaw King 1" for resaw work, and two Lenox Diemaster 2 blades size 1/2" 4tpi & 1/4" 6tpi. I spent countless hours of research and gathered much forum input before making my choice and am quite satisfied with how things turned out. Thus far the blades are doing everything that I had hoped for and I won't hesitate to buy the same when they need replaced.

I chose the 1" Resaw King because it is more than adequate for all of my resaw needs, very smooth and cuts nicely. I decided to spend more for the carbide over other alternatives for the longer life as well as the ability to have the blade resharpened when needed. Though the saw is rated for a 1-1/4" blade width, I chose to go 1/4" smaller because I would rather comfortably work well within the machine's limits and not push the upper envelope (this is the same reason I bought the 18BX over a 14" or 15" bandsaw). I bought the blade directly from Laguna which had the best price.

The two Lenox Diemaster 2 blades came from bandsawbladesdirect.com and they work quite well for my general purpose cutting. I purchased two blades which gave me free shipping (on orders over $100) and went with the bi-metal for a longer service life.

All of the blades are of very good quality and I haven't found any negative issues with them. They also arrived quite quickly.

I had originally considered additional blades but decided to wait until I had a chance to use the machine more and fine tune my future choices - which is what I would recommend you do too. I may add a 3/8" or 1/4" blade with a higher tooth count to tinker with on projects needing a smoother initial finish, as well as a 3/4" blade for questionable wood (hidden metal, etc. - even though I have a metal detector) and other cutting in lieu of risking damage to the Resaw King if needed.

[Jim Becker]

Suffolk Machinery actually sells a discounted bundle of three blades which are good for "starting up" as you explore what size blades will work best for the kind of work you do. For my MM16, I typically leave either a 1/2" 3 tpi or 3/8" 4 tpi blade on it for general cutting including some re-saw work. I don't find that I need to use a wider blade all that often but when I do, it's easy to swap one in. Same goes for narrow blades. Rarely do I use, but the machine is certainly capable of handling them.

[Nick Lazz]

The resaw king, IMO is oversold. I didn’t like it at all and it didn’t work well with my saw. The manufacturer said it would work, and it didn’t. If you like to resaw, the Timberwolf or Woodslicer are excellent choices and far cheaper than the resaw king.
When I first purchased my saw I got a bunch of blades with it. I’ve used very few since. Figure out what you’ll use your bandsaw for first (the most) and then purchase blades accordingly. Otherwise you will waste your money.